


The Tudors, Season 4, Episode 4, Natural Ally

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s04e04 Natural Ally, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 04, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Kudos: 6





	The Tudors, Season 4, Episode 4, Natural Ally

In Darcy’s old castle, the once rebellious captain announces to a gathering of people that Henry will be arriving soon.

Outside, Henry and the others ride up. Presenting his daughter and introducing his new wife, Henry is affectionate towards both the captain and Culpepper. It’s also established to the latter that Henry will likely be having sex with Kitty-Kat later.

Meanwhile, Charles Brandon and the captain talk. Henry’s in a good mood, and the progress is going well.

The captain says some of the rebels who were spared are coming to assure Henry of their loyalty, and inside the castle, realising Charles Brandon doesn’t exactly have happy memories of being inside, the captain sympathetic. Charles Brandon asks how the Catholics are honestly doing.

Most of them are okay, is the answer, but many people don’t know if Henry’s going to swing towards Reformism or back to Catholicism. The captain notes many people are afraid to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing.

Having lived this way for years, if not decades, Charles Brandon says it’s not easy to read Henry’s mind.

Later, Culpepper delivers Kitty-Kat to Henry, and she quietly says him she’ll see him after she’s done with her husband.

Henry tells her about a war, and she suggests he’s too busy for her. In response, he carries her to bed.

Thankfully, she doesn’t call out Culpepper’s name, though, I wouldn’t have put it past the show.

At a feast, Charles Brandon is seated next to N2. Talking about how Richard the Second died in the castle, N2 goes on a spiel about new men being vile and trying to destroy nobility.

Considering how unshy Norfolk was about his feelings toward Charles Brandon, I just can’t believe N2 didn’t hear all about Charles Brandon, the son of a whore, who had undue influence on Henry.

Charles Brandon responds by saying Henry appoints those of worthy character and skill.

Here’s a list in regards to worthy character:

More burned people for not praying the way he wanted, for reading books he didn’t like, and in some instances, for writing about their belief people should be allowed to pray and read and write or not in various ways without being burned to death.

Wolsey stole from Henry and (unwittingly, granted) caused a mental break in a man.

Cromwell tortured people and let a friend be killed to save himself.

Edward raped a man.

Culpepper raped a woman, is helping a woman commit adultery, and has been shown to be emotionally abusive to both of his girlfriends.

Charles Brandon himself was originally appointed due to nepotism, has cheated on, at least, one fiancée and both his wives, murdered and destroyed people, and kept everything by being Henry’s man through-and-through.

All of the above are/were intelligent men. Some are/were hardworking. However, saying the psychopathic tyrant hired anyone based on good character is laughable. Maybe Anthony and William could fit, but they were around for how long?

N2 takes glee in saying, if Henry dies, the lesser classes will suffer for it.

“My lord, be careful not to wish the king’s life away. That is treason.” He gives N2 a nod.

At the other end of the table, someone tells Tom that N2 is snarling at him.

There’s a scene of Lady R hiding from guards in the hallway followed by a scene of Kitty-Kat and Culpepper getting hot and heavy.

The next day, Henry stands in front of a crowd outside, and a man tearfully confesses the sins of the people for rebelling. Forgiving them, Henry assures them he holds no further resentments. Coming up, Mary leads a prayer, and Kitty-Kat is shown watching from her window.

Later, Francis Dereham, Kitty-Kat’s old boyfriend, arrives. In a private audience with her, he blackmails her into finding him a position.

At another feast, Culpepper announces Ambassador Snape. Ambassador Snape and Henry double-talk. When he leaves, Henry and Charles Brandon discuss the upcoming trip to York. Then, Kitty-Kat tells Henry she’s appointed a new usher. Finding this amusing, he has no objections to her doing so.

Charles Brandon tries to give a toast to Kitty-Kat’s good health, but she’s too busy staring at Culpepper to notice. Charles Brandon’s face is uneasy when the suspicions hit. Then, he sees an apparition/hallucination of Darcy.

Meanwhile, Francis D comes to see Joan. Unhappy, she makes it clear he’s not to do anything to ruin the good lives they’ve all managed to secure.

The next scene is one I both love and hate. During the third season, I wrote a fanfic about Charles Brandon talking to a (different) dead character and left it ambiguous if he was actually talking to a ghost or just suffering from delusions. Therefore, in a way, I sort of predicted this.

Darcy and Charles Brandon talk, and the show leaves it to viewer interpretation if Darcy is there or not. Saying he wishes Darcy hadn’t bothered him, Charles Brandon also makes it doesn’t want him to go. Darcy vaguely insists he’s not real.

Tearful, lonely, and lost, Charles Brandon insists he is. He asks forgiveness, and Darcy says he can’t grant this. Calling the living selfish, he disappears.

William and Anthony are gone, too, and aside from Henry, those are the only actual friends Charles Brandon had.

Henry can’t be blamed for this. He was never shown trying to isolate Charles Brandon from loved ones. However, Charles Brandon spent so many years obsessively putting Henry before everything he isolated himself. He tried to remedy this by marrying CB, but still, Henry always came first.

Now, Charles Brandon is all alone. He knows the man he loves could decide to kill him any day for any reason. He knows the man he used to call his best friend is being cheated on. He’s dealing with all the horrible things he himself has done.

Yet, all he has to talk to is the air. Darcy might have been real, but as he said, if Charles Brandon reached out to touch him, he couldn’t.

I have to wonder what was missing in him that Henry, at least temporarily, was able to fill it and make him feel whole. In the end, in trying to get the one thing filled by another person instead of learning to fill it on his own, he’s almost completely lost himself.

Next, at Windsor Castle, Elizabeth tries to tutor the princeling, but he just wants to play. She gives speech about him being a just and merciful king one day before letting him go.

Meanwhile, Culpepper the rapist comes to slut-shame Kitty-Kat about Francis D. She lashes out by telling him not to touch her, threatening his life, and informing him, she has a store of lovers beside him before ordering him out.

He quietly complies.

At a cathedral, the clergy give Henry purses of gold, and Henry makes a joke about the king of Scotland not showing up due to fear of death.

Considering the dead commissioners, rebels killed, and the completely innocent people Charles Brandon killed, this joke might just be a teeny-tiny bit tasteless.

Elsewhere, Kitty-Kat and the others are eating. Outside the door, Joan points Francis D out to Lady R. They join the table, and Francis D tries to push wine on Kitty-Kat. She and her ladies leave.

One of the men comes over to insist Francis D has no right to be so familiar with the Queen of England. Francis D all but says he and Kitty-Kat used to have sex.

Back in Windsor, Elizabeth discovers the princeling has a bad fever. She summons Lady Bryan, and they immediately call for a physician.

Over to Francis D, the other man asks him to promise he won’t keep going around implying he’s slept with the king’s wife and being so familiar with her. When he says Francis D’s lies and bragging are only going to hurt Francis D, Francis D insists he’s not lying. Then, he explicitly says, with coarse misogyny thrown in, he’s had sex with Kitty-Kat.

Meanwhile, Kitty-Kat wants Lady R to send a message to Culpepper to come tomorrow when Henry is asleep.

Back over with the princeling, Edward, a physician, and Lady Bryan are standing at his bed. The physician tells Edward, if the fever doesn’t quickly break, the princeling could die. Lady Bryan wonders if they should tell Henry.

Answering in the negative, Edward orders the physician to do his thing, and above all, don’t let the princeling die.

Elsewhere, Kitty-Kat and her ladies are having a picnic when Henry comes. Saying They’ll leave after business with the Scottish king is done, he asks if she’s possibly pregnant.

At another meal, Francis D is drunkenly making a fool of himself. One of the men tries to get him to behave in front of the ladies. He touches Kitty-Kat, she flinches, and one of the men sharply says, “Sir!”

Francis D turns his attention to Joan, and one of the men declares enough is enough.

Kitty-Kat and her ladies leave.

Fed up, the other man says he’s telling Henry, though, this isn’t due to a belief Kitty-Kat has done anything wrong on his part. The man explicitly says that the king should know how some of his wife’s servants are treating her.

In response, Francis D punches him.

Elsewhere, Charles Brandon sits down next to N2. After he flatters N2 into letting him read a poem he’s writing, they discuss their respective loneliness and wishes for peace.

In the next scene, Culpepper comes into Kitty-Kat’s room, and they profess their love. They agree she’ll get rid of Francis D. She begs him not to be angry, and he uses her fear and insecurity to get a blowjob.

Meanwhile, the princeling still isn’t better.

In a church, the present for the Scottish king is set out, and everyone waits for him to arrive. Henry waves his hand across an open flame.

Arriving, a messenger announces the Scottish king isn’t coming. Also, Scottish armies are invading England. Sending Tom to go deal with this, Henry breaks the present.

Because, with a war going on it, it’s not as if they could use the money it’d bring.

Another messenger comes, and attacking him, Henry threatens to cut out his tongue.

This poor soul has to tell the psychotic king that the princeling is possibly dying.

Next, Henry comes in to see the princeling.

Meanwhile, Mary prays for her brother.

Intercut with concern for the princeling is Culpepper and Kitty-Kat having sex.

Then, everyone is sleeping vigil with Henry using the princeling’s stomach as a pillow. Waking up, the princeling plays with Henry’s hair, and when Henry wakes, the princeling greets, “Father.” Discovering the fever is gone, Henry orders a special service be done in thanks for the princeling and Kitty-Kat.

There’s a shot of a faceless person writing a letter.

Historically, Cranmer was the one who brought the allegations to Henry. However, the fact the writer isn’t shown giving the letter to the servant calls when it was written into question. Based on the small glimpse of hair I got, I’m not entirely sure Charles Brandon didn’t write it. The writer was writing slowly, and whether Cranmer, Charles Brandon, or someone else entirely, this could be a sign they were actively trying to disguise their handwriting.

A servant carries the letter.

As Gardiner expresses Henry’s happiness about his marriage to Kitty-Kat, the servant, ninja-like, slips the letter in Henry’s seat.

Fin.


End file.
